Profile: Several things will need to go Barnes' way in order for him to be fantasy-relevant in 2013. The Astros will need to shy away from free agent outfielders, and he is either going to need to beat out one of the three outfielders currently ahead of him on the depth chart or he's going to need some kind of misfortune to help him move up. Barnes didn't do much to impress the Astros' brass in his brief cup o' joe in 2012, posting a .204/.250/.265 line, striking out nearly 28% of the time while swinging at almost anything within reach. He's entering the year just 26, and he demonstrated good patience and decent pop at Triple-A in 2012, but he'll need a very strong spring to be relevant even to deep leaguers. (Michael Barr)

The Quick Opinion: Barnes faces deep competition in the Astros' outfield, and while he did end the season with an extended look, his .204/.250/.265 line couldn't have done much to state his case entering 2013.

Profile: At the age of 27, Brandon Barnes played his first full major league season in 2013, when he manned center field for the Astros. He will most likely start 2014 as part of the center field solution for the Rockies. While the move to Colorado boosts any hitter’s fantasy potential, he is coming off a .240/.289/.346 season. Barnes has always had issues with striking out, and virtually no on-base skills to speak of. That’s the bad. The good is that he showed some power in the minors and stole 11 bases last year (though at a mere 50% success rate). In a full season in Colorado, it’s possible, though not a given, that he posts homer and steal totals in the low- to mid-teens. This will likely be accompanied by a poor batting average, few RBI, and low runs totals. Still, this makes him worth consideration late in NL-only leagues, as long as he beats out Charlie Blackmon and Drew Stubbs for playing time. Mixed leaguers can stay away. (Derek Ambrosino)

The Quick Opinion: Barnes showed his warts in 2013, particularly a lack of on-base skills and problems making contact. He stole 11 bases, but at a very poor success rate. The move to Colorado should help, and despite hitting only eight home runs last season, his minor league history indicates there may be a tad more power on the horizon. Barnes is roster-worthy in NL-only leagues if he carves out some playing time, but mixed leaguers can stay away.

Profile: Charlie Blackmon and Corey Dickerson broke out in 2014; Drew Stubbs had his best year since 2010; Carlos Gonzalez still projects (god willing and the creek don’t rise) as the Rockies best outfielder going into 2015. This leaves Barnes buried on the depth chart as he enters his age-29 season. He swings too much, misses too much, doesn’t draw walks, and isn’t very efficient at stealing bases despite above average speed. He hit a few balls a long way in 2014, but seven of his eight home runs were at Coors, and he probably won’t see enough playing time or make enough contact for that sell-out power to matter overall. (Robert J. Baumann)

The Quick Opinion: If he happens into a lot of playing time, Barnes might reach double digit homers. Not worth the risk on draft day.

Profile: There are zero good reasons to own Barnes unless he has somehow become a starter in the Rockies outfield. If he isn’t starting, move on to find a hitter with ability and/or potential. If you stuck with Barners here is what to expect: an "only at Coors play." He has a career .244 batting average. That low average requires production in other categories to boost fantasy value, but Barnes doesn’t have any other skills. He stole double-digit bases once, in 2013 (11 SB), but his lack of success (21 for 39 or 54% for his career) on the bases has driven down his stolen base potential. His power took a dive from bad to just horrible (3.4% home runs per fly ball and .090 isolated slugging percentage). He is a guy with no average and very little speed or power. Now if he is home (Colorado), he plays better (like every other player) with a .286/.342/.432 slash line. It’s significantly better than his overall numbers, but they basically make him a quarter time play in some sort of platoon. Instead of carrying both of these theoretical halves of a platoon, just find one which is actually good. (Jeff Zimmerman)

The Quick Opinion: Brandon Barnes has no talent or full time position. Until he finds a way to acquire either, he is useless in fantasy.

Profile: When the Rockies acquired Brandon Barnes in the Dexter Fowler trade, there was a glimmer of hope that Barnes could be the Rockies' starting center fielder. He had hit eight home runs in 2013 with the Astros, and stole 11 bases, while playing excellent defense. He hit the same eight home runs in 2014 in fewer plate appearances, and saw his isolated power spike, as he posted his career-best wRC+. There were a couple of problems with this though. First, that career-best wRC+ was 83, which isn't very good, making him 17% worse than the league average. Second, in 2014, he was in his age-28 season. Third, he struck out in 31.9% of his plate appearances. In 2015, Barnes was able to get his strikeouts under control, but everything else failed him. He dropped down to a 62 wRC+, and then in 2016 he sunk even further, to a 31 wRC+. Of the 438 players who tallied at least 100 PA in 2016, only four posted a worse wRC+ than did Barnes. It comes as little surprise then, that when the Rockies were ready to promote David Dahl, Barnes was the one who was sent down to make room for the phenom. The Rockies sent Barnes down on July 24, and released him outright on Sept. 9. Barnes has signed a minor league deal with the Marlins heading into 2017, but since the Marlins already have four good outfielders, Barnes' potential for playing time will be limited to — in a best-case scenario — to Giancarlo Stanton's annual disabled list stints. And who knows, he might not even see the field in those situations either, as the drop in offensive production from Stanton to Barnes just might be the most depressing thing to ever happen on a baseball diamond, and not even the Marlins are that cruel.

The Quick Opinion: Brandon Barnes' stay on a major league roster was dependent on him maintaining the faintest baseline of offensive production. He couldn't, and as such he was dispatched. Don't expect big contributions from him in the future.

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